| Plagues of Babylon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 6, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | July 15 – August 8, 2013 | |||
| Studio | Principal Studios,Senden, Germany | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:03 | |||
| Label | Century Media | |||
| Producer | Jon Schaffer | |||
| Iced Earth chronology | ||||
| ||||
Plagues of Babylon is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal bandIced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassistLuke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a guest on the album.[1] According to rhythm guitarist and band leaderJon Schaffer, half of the album is focused on his"Something Wicked" concept, while the other half are stand-alone songs.[1]
The album was originally set to be released in October 2013, but was pushed back due to Iced Earth's tour commitments in the fall.[1] The band began recording in Germany on July 15, 2013, at Principal Studios.[1][2] On August 8, 2013, it was announced that the band had completed tracking the album.[3] On September 3, the band announced they had completed mixing and masteringPlagues of Babylon.[4] On September 25, the official track listing and album cover were released.[5]
On October 7, Iced Earth announced that would be releasing a limited edition vinyl EP entitledThe Plagues.[6] The EP will contain three songs fromPlagues of Babylon, and will be made available on Iced Earth's European tour withVolbeat.[6] On October 11, the lyric video for the album's title track was released.[7]
The December 2013 issue of Germany'sMetal Hammer magazine featured the song "Peacemaker" on the attached CD[8] and the December 2013 issue of Germany's RockHard magazine featured the song "Among the Living Dead" on the attached CD.[9] A song titled "Spirit of the Times" was originally released by Schaffer's side projectSons of Liberty, and was re-recorded for this album's release. The song "Highwayman" is a cover originally written byJimmy Webb.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metal-Temple.com |   [10] |
| Loudwire |  [11] |
| metal.de | [12] |
| Metal-Hammer | (5/7)[13] |
| Stormbringer | [14] |
| Revolver Magazine | [15] |
| Allmusic | [16] |
| Metal Storm | (7.4/10)[17] |
| About.com | [18] |
| Blabbermouth.net | (7.5/10)[19] |
| Powermetal.de |  [20] |
Plagues of Babylon received mostly positive reviews overall from music critics. In January 2014, the album reached position No. 5 on theGerman Media Control Charts. This is the band's highest chart position in their entire career.[21][22] The band also reached No. 34 on theUltratop Charts in Belgium.[23] Meanwhile, in the US, the album sold approximately 6,300 copies in its first week to debut at No. 49 on theBillboard 200.[24]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Plagues of Babylon" | Jon Schaffer | 7:47 |
| 2. | "Democide" |
| 5:22 |
| 3. | "The Culling" |
| 4:26 |
| 4. | "Among the Living Dead" |
| 5:14 |
| 5. | "Resistance" |
| 4:59 |
| 6. | "The End?" |
| 7:13 |
| 7. | "If I Could See You" | Schaffer | 3:55 |
| 8. | "Cthulhu" |
| 6:04 |
| 9. | "Peacemaker" |
| 5:02 |
| 10. | "Parasite" |
| 3:30 |
| 11. | "Spirit of the Times" (Sons of Liberty cover) | Schaffer | 5:05 |
| 12. | "Highwayman" (Jimmy Webb cover) | Jimmy Webb | 3:12 |
| 13. | "Outro" (unlisted) | 0:24 | |
| Total length: | 1:02:13 | ||
Iced Earth
Additional musicians
Production and design
